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OTTAWA — The Harper government's controversial bill to end the long-gun registry passed the House of Commons Wednesday, marking the end of a long political battle over one of the most controversial law enforcement measures in recent memory.

"Today's vote marks an important achievement, as we fulfil the promise we made to Canadians to eliminate the long-gun registry once and for all," said Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.

Almost all opposition MPs voted against the legislation — except for New Democrats Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty, who sided with the government.

The bill passed easily, by a margin of 159 to 130, as the Conservatives used their majority in the House to secure passage of the bill, which now goes to the Senate where the Conservatives also have a majority. The Senate hearings are expected to take several weeks before the bill is passed into law.

Once that happens, RCMP officials will begin deleting information in a massive database that provides details to police on what types of firearms registered gun owners possess.

The quest to abolish the long gun registry — which dates back to the mid-1990s — has been a long-standing goal of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party.

Earlier Wednesday, Opposition leader Nycole Turmel said she had ordered all her NDP MPs to all vote against the bill.

Turmel said she spoke with Hyer and Rafferty, and warned them that any MPs who break ranks will be punished.

"There will be consequences," Turmel said.

In statements posted to their website, Hyer and Rafferty explained that they voted with the government to fulfil long-standing promises to their constituents.

"It's important to stand by one's commitments and to show the people who supported you all these years that you can be taken at your word when the time comes and that their opinions matter," wrote Rafferty.

"I have always held the strong conviction that we must end the well-intended but ineffective and wasteful registration of hunting rifles and shotguns," wrote Hyer.

The mood in the House Wednesday evening was tense, although the outcome was never in doubt.

The public galleries of the House of Commons were packed with staunch supporters and diehard opponents of the gun registry.

After the vote, as members of the Coalition for Gun Control lamented the imminent death of the long-gun registry, a number of Tory MPs feted their victory at a Parliament Hill cocktail party.

In attendance were such anti-gun registry lobbyists as Tony Bernardo, who has worked for 15 years to end the registry though his lobbying efforts with the Canadian Institute for Legislative Action.

"Certain of my colleagues will have a reception this evening to underline the fact that we have realized another of our election promises," Conservative MP Maxime Bernier said. "Certain colleagues want to meet with the people who have worked for many years to abolish the registry."

Quebec Public Security Minister Robert Dutil blasted the Harper government Wednesday for making the elimination of the registry a festive affair.

"I find this deplorable," Dutil said on his way into question period at the provincial legislature. "Frankly, they have a right to their opinion. We understand. It's their opinion. They promised it. But to go so far as to celebrate . . . is not very adequate."

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae expressed similar sentiments.

"I think that's really inappropriate myself," he said. "I think people have to demonstrate real sensitivity. Everybody has to understand that there are people who have strongly held views on the other side."

Rae said law enforcement agencies will now struggle to keep track of firearms in Canada.

"It looks as if our certification process — getting certificates and everything — is actually now less stringent than it is in the United States," he said. "We're going to have to understand what the consequences are and what the effects are."

The Coalition for Gun Control — which played a key advocacy role in the leadup to the creation of the registry in 1995 — lamented its destruction.

Nathalie Provost, who survived being shot during the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal in which 14 young women were killed, expressed profound disappointment.

"We lost something we built many years ago," she said. "I thought it was something we must keep for the safety of all Canadians, so I feel very sad today."

Provost said she never thought she'd see the day come.

"I never thought Canada would become the state it seems to have become with the Conservative government," she said. "The way we built Canada in the last 50 years is fragile now because of the philosophy of the Conservative Party."

Toronto criminal lawyer Ed Burlew, who has been defending gun owners from criminal charges since the registry was founded, says lawful gun owners felt enormously elated to see C-19 pass the House.

"It's like lifting a thousand-pound weight off the shoulders of every gun owner in Canada," he said. "It had become a psychological burden to people."

While many gun owners feel very gratified by the vote's result, Burlew said, there are still other elements of the Firearms Act that need to be clarified or struck down.

But while thousands of gun owners are pleased to see the legal pendulum finally swing back in their favour, many remain unsatisfied, and will continue to push for a broader rewriting of the Firearms Act.

Allister Muir, a spokesman for the Canadian Unlicensed Firearms Owners Association, says Bill C-19 does not go nearly far enough.

Muir said he will continue to push for a complete rewriting of the Firearms Act, and would like to see a regime in place that does not criminalize lawful gun owners.

"We're extremely disappointed," he said. "We're still treated worse than criminals under this law."

Bernardo, also executive director of the Canadian Sports Shooting Association, said Canadian firearms enthusiasts would like to see a broader reform of the Firearms Act. He said he will begin lobbying for changes in other areas of firearms law shortly, although he would not reveal what he will target next.

"We're keeping those cards close to our chest for now," he said. "When C-19 has royal assent, we'll move on."

What's Next: The Remaining Road to the Ending the Registry

- Gun registry bill introduced in Senate on Feb 27

- Senate committee begins study in early- to mid-March

- Bill expected to pass majority Conservative Senate this spring

- Canadian Firearms Program begins destroying long-gun data in registry

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